Fans of The Mentalist, 11th Hour, and the Big Bang Theory were shocked to find their shows suddenly disappear from CBS.com at the end of last year. And they’re still not back online. Does this show that some companies still don’t understand the whole concept of online video?
Big media companies do seem to be slowly but surely realizing the potential of the Web. Most of the television networks are at least making an effort to get on board rather than be left behind. But some still don’t seem to get it.
CBS.com
is actually one of the better video-sharing efforts from an American network on the Web. It’s easy to navigate, has plenty of content available, and the social networking aspects are both innovative and well-implemented.
But it’s by no means perfect. Having said that, none of the online video sites are perfect as of yet, with even the much-applauded Hulu and BBC iPlayer having things I’d like to see improved. But CBS.com’s biggest problem is the missing full-length episodes of certain shows.
Shows Inexplicably Pulled
Fans of the three shows mentioned above first noticed the disappearance last November, when full episodes were removed from the site without any explanation or forewarning. In their place were, and still are, two or three minute long clips of each episode. Kind of like a teaser trailer, and kind of pointless.
According to OnmiVideo, it was actually Warner Brothers Television that was behind the takedown, with CBS committed to offering full-length episodes of its shows for free. But the network went along with it so is really just as much to blame as WB is.
Pathetic Decision
Can these companies not see how absolutely pathetic decisions such as these are? What is someone going to do when they find their favorite show isn’t available on one of the legitimate, officially sanctioned sources? Why, turn to piracy of course. And there’ll have no trouble finding whatever they want then.
That may seem like a very simplified view of the whole thing. And yes, that’s probably an accurate assumption because I don’t know what deals are done behind closed doors. But what I do know is that old media needs to start using rather than fighting against new media or they will lose.
Embrace Or Die
If television shows and movies are offered online either for free and ad-supported, or for a nominal fee, people will use the service provided. If these shows are kept off the Web for whatever reason, people will just use BitTorrent trackers instead.
Television companies and the whole of Hollywood face a stark but easy decision: Embrace or die. The music industry seems to be on the verge of choosing the latter option, but it isn’t too late for the video industry to save itself from a similar fate.
Also See:
- Watch TV Shows Online – WebTVWire Library
- Watch Free TV Online – Popcrunch Guide
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